Category Archives: Africa

It seems expedient that I take this time that I have, this particular moment to put down a few thoughts concerning this particular trip to Lomé, Togo. As you may or may not know, we have been coming to Togo now for the last four years, plus or minus a year in that computation. We have been meeting in Sister Felicia’s home being it was by her gracious invitation that we could come and have a place to hold meetings as well as have the accommodations and board that is required for a stay of any length of time. It is always very humbling how the Father has children who carry the burden of the populace of their respective countries, and are willing to do what is needed whether it is natural coordination of space and time or to give the finances required to create the opportunity from which this word may go forth. We come and we go, but they must stand; they must abide, dealing with not only the repercussions of the financial burden that our coming imposes upon them, but having to also stand during the spiritual attack, holding the banner of this word as a standard of righteousness to the peril of the kingdom of darkness. They are the unsung heroes of faith, and for that sacrifice of service and dedication I say may the Father Jehovah bless them abundantly.

With this visit there was a visiting team of five persons, including myself. There were four members of the Port Harcourt, MIS fellowship that would arrive here by car on Friday afternoon, a journey of no less than 7 hours as far as the driving is concerned, plus the journey from Port Harcourt to Lagos by flight, from which they would begin their drive to Togo. Brother Chijioke, Brother Yaguo Ide, his wife Sister Lucy, as well as Brother Boma Odumah. Their willingness to sacrifice their time and life energy for the sake of this Kingdom message is very humbling. What they have contributed to this mission effort is immeasurable as far as this word is concerned. I trust that what they have shared and by the fact of their presence, will produce the desired fruit of righteousness in them and in this place as well.

It is evident that through the time of ministry that has been given to Togo overall, it is beginning to bear fruit. When we first arrived, concerning the start of the mission, there were many who were coming and getting blessed, saved, baptized; many were also filled with the Holy Spirit. But as time went on and the Word of God was coming with the power and anointing, laying down the principles of the death to self message, as well as establishing the relevant truth of the life of trials, tribulation, as well as resurrection, the number of those who were genuinely interested began to dwindle down. Whereas in the beginning we had sometimes 30 up to 50 people who would be in attendance, we now have at the most, 12 to 15 people. Out of the group there is maybe 5 to 6 who are catching the reality of truth that is in the message of life and hope that we are bringing. It may not seem to many a story of success, but then if one has that perspective, then one can see or sense that it is that remnant on which the Father depends and will use to bring His Kingdom into being.

The rebelliousness of church and the pastoral control that is put over the people is a very big obstacle, not to mention the witchcraft that those who hear this word and are quickened by the Spirit of God as to its truth must overcome/press through. But despite the devil’s attempts to detract, derail, as well as disregard the relevant truth of this word, there are those who are getting a hold of the truth and beginning to run with it. They are now having meetings on Sunday morning, which is a very big step for this fellowship; possibly you might say no big thing, but I can tell you that that is not the case. IT IS A VERY BIG THING!!!.

We have had six meetings over the course of the last four days. The first meeting being held on Friday evening, setting the tone of the meetings/word that would be coming over the next 3 days. The theme of the message was resurrection and its power of life. The scripture out of John 11 concerning the story of Lazarus and how it was related, an allegory, as to the Holy Place church of our day. I am not really going to go into the details as to messages and such. For those of you who are interested they will be made available online very soon, and you will be notified as to where to go to find them. What I would like to tell you is that the last session we had on Monday evening with the core group, was on traditional marriage and the bride price. It was a breakthrough as well as a fundamental truth that needed to be discussed and set down. That meeting went from 4PM to 9PM.

I would ask each one of you that is reading this report to please pray for these brethren and the work in Togo. It is not a matter of just changing your church affiliation, it is a matter of coming against the princes of darkness as well.

By Brother Jim Cassell

Dear Brethren,

I would like to share a few thoughts on this past trip to Africa of which I felt very privileged to be a part. All went very well with regard to travel, connections, and journey strength. The prayers of the saints were felt and so appreciated. PTL!

Togo: The word was very direct and cutting. “You Must Come Out Now!” All along the way in each stop the word God spoke to me was “Come Out Of Her My People.” It is one thing to say to those that still belong and go back to their churches, “come out,” but the word goes beyond that. We, all of us, me first and foremost, need to still come out. We need to come out of the City of Religion and religious actions that deny God our whole hearts, which is what He is after. We need to come out of the world; the world is still in our hearts, still dictates our lifestyle and character attitudes. We need to come out of self. I can attest, self is still very much alive and making demands that supersede walking in and obeying the Spirit. Prime example; go to any country in the world and as soon as the meeting is over, everyone, young and old, are tethered to our media devices, phones, tablets, etc. No discussing the word or fellowship, just media.

Addis: My feeling is a nucleus has formed and a good foundation laid, now is time to build upon that which is set forth. Brethren are beginning to respond to the word, children are responding. I did notice more men in the meetings and they were responsive. In one meeting we asked those who desired to come forward and receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit and all stood up. There was a powerful move of the Spirit and many received, including our widows. Glory to God. Please pray for this people, life is very hard there but they are most enduring and content with so little.

Kampala: “Show the house to the house.” The house of religion was addressed in each session. It is so entwined with our family, our culture and our nationality, our lifestyle. A very good response in the last meeting when Brother Burt ministered on the “Two Houses!” It really expanded on what these 2 houses mean to each of us. “Good Bye, World,” is more than a song, it is a choice, a decision, a destiny in God. We are all in the “Valley Of Decision!” God is offering us so very much and all He is asking for is our whole heart.

By Brother Fikresillassie Tsega

Hello Everyone,

I would like to give a praise report of a recent mission trip we took.

Early in the morning on Friday, July 22, 2016, Brother Jemal, Mr. Tadesse and I, Brother Fikre, left Addis Ababa on a bus to a city called Hossana, which is about 300 kilometers from the capital city of Addis Ababa. The city Hossana was a transition to our final destination. It is the winter season in Ethiopia and the day was very cold and rainy. We had to spend the night in Hossana in order to catch the early morning bus to another town. Brother Jemal and I rented an affordable one room to share and Mr. Tadesse stayed on his own.

The next day we met at the bus station and took a mini bus that goes to a small town called Soda, which is located southwest of Addis Ababa, in the river Gibe region. Gibe is a tributary of one of the largest rivers in Ethiopia called OMO. The road was manageable until a small town called Morsito. Too much rain and the muddy road made the remaining trip so very difficult. Many times we had to get out of the bus and walk to make the load of the bus lighter. We kept moving forward even though we were struggling, but the road in front of us was blocked by a bus which was stuck in the mud. The passengers began to dig with shovels and other tools to unstick the bus. Although it took several hours, we were finally able to reach the last station of the mini bus, the town Soda. Praise the Lord!

The next challenge was to get to our final destination as soon as we could. This time there was no transportation so we had to walk an hour-and-a-half to get to the brethren. We headed to a village called Omo Chora, by the river Gibe region and arrived to the small village Totanik where the brethren live. The brethren received us with warm affection and made us rest for a little while. We then prayed and gave thanks to the Lord together. The day happened to be a market day for the village so the brethren asked us to visit the market with them. This gave us a relaxed walk and good fresh air before the evening meeting.

In the evening, the elders of the church and others gathered together in the church for a time of fellowship and worship. Mr. Tadesse began by giving his testimony and then Brother Jemal and I shared from the Pattern book by Brother duCille. We continued until midnight and the people were very pleased and encouraged. The fellowship was uplifting and we felt the presence of the Lord. These brethren are very hungry for the word and on fire for the things of God.

After the meeting was over, dinner was served in the church. It was a banquet, a very delicious meal which we all enjoyed. We can only say “God bless them.” We also spent the night in the church where they had prepared a sleeping area for us as well as some of the brethren who also spent the night with us.

The following day we started with an early morning prayer meeting followed by breakfast. We then started the meeting with uplifting songs and prayers. The brethren asked us to introduce ourselves to the congregation. We introduced ourselves and each one of us prayed – it was a time of exhortation and fellowship. The Spirit of the Lord was moving and we felt the presence of the Lord in the meeting.

I would like to mention some facts about the brethren’s background as they are a people who are isolated by society because of their heritage and trade. Many people in Ethiopia are not aware of this, but it has become an acceptable thing to isolate such ones and these people live in their own community doing only business with other communities. Their origin is believed to be Jewish. They are artisan by trade and very good people. We saw the hand of the Lord in a people who are despised by society. We gave praise to God. From what we learned no one goes to fellowship with them in their church. The goodness of the Lord is amazing and we saw and heard their testimony which gave us remarkable encouragement. Their love and compassion for us was Godly. May the almighty God bless them and keep them we pray, Amen.

Sunday was our last day. After we finished our mission, we exchanged a heart-felt good bye with our dear brethren and left in the afternoon. The brethren advised us to change our route to get to Addis. This time we traveled by renting a motorcycle taxi to take us to a place where we could catch a bus to another town and eventually to Addis. However, due to the heavy rain, the motorcycle drivers told us they could not proceed since it would be a dangerous drive. It was a bit shocking that in the middle of nowhere, the only option was to walk in the mud and rain for two-and-a-half hours to get to the next town where we could find transportation which would take us to another town to spend the night. Initially our plan with the new route was to get to Addis on the same day. We were exhausted and soaked with rain and mud when we got to a town called Wolkete. Brother Jemal’s feet were badly hurt and he didn’t feel well. We found a room for the night which Brother Jemal and I shared. Due to the water shortage, we were not able to take a shower. The following morning we arrived home safely around 11 AM. We thank God for His protection and love.

I thought that it would be expedient for me to take this opportunity to bring you up-to-date as to what is happening in Ethiopia. As some of you may or may not be aware, as in many other places in the world, Ethiopia also is having its geo-political as well as eco-political trouble and tribulation that has started over the last year or so. It is bringing tribal, as well as religious infighting amongst the populace of this place; even as it has been prophesied over the last year-and-a-half in many of the meetings held here in Ethiopia. However, I am here to tell you that the work of God continues and that God is blessing the work as it continues to grow and prosper in the sense of changing the lives of the people who are involved in that work.

Those changes are changes that I myself am a beneficiary of. The work of the NGO, as well as the spreading of this Gospel of the Kingdom, has at this time outgrown that which we have in the natural to use as far as the logistics of it is concerned. The compound that we have utilized over the last year is not sufficient to house what it is that we must do on a daily basis concerning the work with the beneficiaries as well as the administrative side of the work. Just these past two weeks we have had 7-10 members of the participating families come to know the Lord. Such a harvest as well as that which is to be added; there is the need of being able to assemble with them and to teach them the foundational truths of this word. Logistically speaking that requires a room to rent to meet with them in. Please pray with us as we look to the Lord for His provision. One thing I am aware of is that in spite of the devil’s attempt(s) to destroy this work, God HAS always and God Will always prevail and HE WILL continue to do His work.

We as a team have a very busy schedule ahead of us due to the shortness of the allocated time; both concerning the natural aspect of the NGO as well as the spiritual side of the story, which in my estimations overshadows the natural side of things. I am asking you as the body of Christ to PRAY!!! (1) We have outgrown our present facilities and are in need of something on a larger scale. (2) For the ongoing work on the spiritual side of things, a place that we can hold seminars and training sessions as well as a place to meet as a body as it continues to add to our numbers. (3) Pray to the Lord of the Harvest for the workers that are/will be needed to facilitate this great work. These are but a few of the preeminent needs that we have at this time. I trust that as you go down in prayer for this portion of the body of Christ to be assembled for its particular and peculiar work, God Himself will direct your thoughts as to how to pray.

Again I would like to thank all of you who pray and support this work as well as this move of God. Thank you for your diligence, your sacrifices of time and energy, as well as your life’s blood. I trust that you will be favored in your families as well as the prospering of your souls.

We love you all in Jesus’ name,
Ethiopia Mission team

Saturday, January 21, 2016, Brother Tomas Brchan

Thank you very much for your prayers. The meetings were very good. The guys here do a great job with the children and we were so blessed just to add a little bit to it. It was a great blessing to see the children knowing the Bible and having a spiritual understanding. We thank God for His goodness, that He reaches His hand to those young ones that are getting ready to receive more and later bring God’s glory to this world around them.

Saturday, January 21, 2016

I have to say that I have a BIG AMEN to what Brother Tomas has written!!!! I was so impressed with the children’s interaction with me in the meeting this AM. I was asking them what they have been learning and not just one or two of them, but several began to relate the story of Moses and Israel as they have been taught over the last weeks. Their recounting of it was marvelous as well as the spiritual content that those responses contained. It tells me that they are not only hearing but they are UNDERSTANDING what is they are hearing and retaining it in detail. The work of the NGO, thanks to the dedicated as well as hard and diligent service of those responsible, is showing not just fruit, but much fruit. It has been a hard uphill battle but there have been many who have been involved with this battle for the hearts of the children of Ethiopia; both here within the country, as well as globally. There has been much trouble and tribulation along the way, but their sacrifice I am sure will not go without reward. It is now however that God is giving us the Victory!

The fight is intensifying because of our success, but God be true and every man a liar. He will keep His word and it shall not return unto Him void. HE WILL give us PREEMINENCE over the enemy and we have/will/shall OVERCOME the devil. The mandate that was given to us in 2012 to “GO AFTER THE CHILDREN” is NOW beginning to show the evidence of that fruit; pray God that we can bring it to fruition. Pray God that we have the laborers to harvest it. I am very encouraged by all that I have witnessed and it has strengthened as well as renewed my determination to fulfil the mandate that has been given to us to “GO AFTER THE CHILDREN.”

There is not much that I can add to what I have previously said concerning this most recent visit to Ethiopia. I will add however that it was as good for me as it might have been good for the work that is going on there. We, those who have participated in the Ethiopian mission effort over the last seven years, have been pounding on the rock of ecclesiastical deception as well as the horrendous resistance that the devil had mounted when we first came to this land with this word. Although the devil and his princes are continuing in their efforts to push against the light of that word of God, I can testify what my eyes have seen and what my ears have heard. Light is now shinning into that darkness and it is and it shall prevail; as I have said above, I am a witness to that light in this last visit. I can testify by the Spirit, in reference to that thought, that we have had a breakthrough in that darkness! I am being reminded by the Lord concerning the scripture in John 1:5, And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. The Amplified renders it as so, And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it]. As it is, I can testify to the relevance of this scripture as it applies to Ethiopia. I also have to say that the fight for the soul of this country and its people is far from won. In reality we have but established, as it were, a beach head. There is much left to do as well as the souls that are being saved need to be nurtured and the children that are under our care need to be taught and brought up in the admonition of the Lord.

We have, as of the time we left, secured a place for the NGO that has more space and will give us the ability to have training sessions for both the children as well as the mothers, and of course those who are in the widows vocational training programs. My dear brethren, there is so much potential that we have to teach them the Word of God, especially the children. As time passes and if we do not take advantage of it, we will be responsible and held accountable of spiritual dereliction[1] of duty, something of which I do not want to be guilty of! By the way, in the military sense, in the time of war the offense can be construed as an act of treason.

How can we as a people who have this word, in this particular time of Biblical history, knowing the revelation of God concerning His sons, as to their responsibility and accountability concerning the blood of the church that is now being offered, be so complacent and or indifferent? This church is now emerging out of the quagmire of religious bigotry and the malignant darkness of the man/beast is raising its head out of the seas of humanity to devour it as well as her child. If we have divided interest, how then can we still remain true to our calling and election? II Peter 1:10, wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.

Some of the main prayer requests that I would want to put before you is the need that we have to have qualified people to minister and to teach the children as well as the adults who have just recently received the Lord. We are in need of establishing Bible reading clubs. Many of the adults cannot read or write, but those that can read need Bibles. There is a strategy that I believe the Lord spoke to me about and that is that those who can read could in essence assemble those who are near to them or meet at a convenient location such as the new accommodations we have acquired and have a time to read the Word of God. The other need that is very necessary is that we have a mission house. A place that those who wish to participate might be able to stay for extended lengths of time. It would be necessary for it to accommodate a large number of people including a care taker as well as his family if there is one, to look after the place as well as to facilitate those who might be staying for an extended time frame. These are but just a few of the primary needs that we have at THIS moment. I am asking those of you who have the unction of the spirit to get involved, first and foremost the need to pray about this burden of concern for Ethiopia that I believe that the Lord has put on my heart and on my shoulders. We, Nancy and I, are committed to do whatever it takes as to whatever the Lord requires… not only for Ethiopia, but for other parts of Africa as well. There are places where there is an opening of a door in the establishment of this message of the death, burial as well as resurrection life. Not only in Africa for us, but also in Europe. There is a battle cry that I hear ringing in the heavenlies, “Work while it is yet day for the night cometh when no man worketh.” May I be worthy of the burden that God would put upon us.

Because He is, I am your Brother in Christ Jesus.

Blessing to all,
Brother Burt & Sister Nancy

[1] Noun 1. Der·e·lic·tion (dĕr′ə-lĭk′shən) n. 1. Willful neglect, as of duty or principle. 2. a. The act of abandoning; abandonment. b. A state of abandonment or neglect.

It is Sunday morning and our time in Uganda has been very profitable. We have had a number of meetings and the presence of the Spirit of God has been very evident – for which we are very thankful for. As I stated in the previous report there have been some new faces in the meetings. It seems that God is working to establish Uganda as a hub for the spreading of the Gospel of the Kingdom to East Africa. In the first meeting on Friday night the message was entitled “My Job Is To Do What?” It was basically outlining the responsibility and delegation of authority that was given to man in the beginning (Genesis 1:26). There is this thought in Christendom that we have to wait until we die before we can move into that nature and authority that was given to what was described as a living soul in Genesis chapter 1. But it would seem to me that if we serve a living God, a God who is a God of the living and not of the dead, then that which we receive from Him by virtue of His Blood is a “now thing”! The reality of it, as well as the manifestation of it, is only dependent on what I am able to believe. Mark 9:23, Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. Please note the ALL THINGS!

On Saturday the meetings moved from the home of Sister Biri to a nearby day care school where we were able to put up a canvas cover that was quite adequate for our purposes. This in and of itself to me has some significance in that it seems that God is saying, Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; (Isaiah 54:2). This is a very good word for the work here.

We had two meetings today; one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The message that was given in the morning meeting was called “Where Will You Be at the End of The Day.” It started out in Jeremiah 31:29 where by the Word of the Lord, God set the perimeters of individual responsibility. It would seem that God is saying that we individually have a responsibility to “work out our own salvation.” If you take the scripture in context, then it applies to the New Covenant that God said that he is going to make with the House of Israel as well as the House of Judah; which in and of itself includes you and me. It is interesting that God includes Judah in the statement as if Judah has a separate part to play that goes beyond that of the House of Israel.

After a short break for lunch we started the afternoon meeting and the title of the message was “It’s Not What You Know, It’s Who You Know.” It was a word that was emphasizing the need for us to draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. It also was dealing with the need that we, as a people, have for tribulation. It was showing us that tribulation in and of itself is a means to an end. Our focus in the midst of trouble should not be focused on the trouble, but we should be focused upon God. At the end of meeting there was a very good response from several of the brethren there.

On Sunday we were winding down and rounding up on what it was that the Lord had been laying out for us who desire to be overcomers; those of us that want to be a part of the First Fruits company that usher in the coming of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit began to show us where we are coming from, what it is that we have to fight and what the expectation of God is toward us at the end of the day. We finished up later in the afternoon with an exhortation from Brother Ronald Johnson who admonished us that we need to see afar off.

By the end of the meetings it was evident to me that God had been doing a work in the midst of us. I believe, as well as the testimonies that were shared by others, that the meetings were very profitable and that God was indeed laying a foundation for the future work of building the Kingdom of God.

I would encourage you all to get the files as they become available in the next week to ten days. If you wish to have them, the link will be posted to the Viber Mission News account. If you do not have Viber and want the files, please contact me at: Bro_Burt@newhopeenterprizes.net. In any case they will be posted to my website once they are edited.

May His blessing be on each and every one of you,
Brother Burt & Sister Nancy

We got off with a good start on this current mission trip to Africa. Our journey started at 11:30 AM on Tuesday the 19th and we arrived at 10:30 PM on Wednesday night at the Entebbe International Airport in Uganda. The trip was long and tiring, but it went well and we arrived without any incidents or mishaps. We also had the added blessing that Brother Ronald and Sister Margaret Johnson, who work in the D.R.C. with the U.N., were with us on the flight from Amsterdam to Entebbe. They were visiting family in the States and were now going back to Africa through Entebbe that they might be at the meetings that were going to be held in Kampala. So in the midst of the journey we were able to have fellowship with them as well as to discuss the work that is going on in Africa.

When we arrived at the airport in Uganda we were able to disembark and make our way through customs without the normal difficulties that come with that experience. Our luggage was also available in a relatively short amount of time and all of it was present and accounted for, PTL! However, that was not the experience of the Johnson’s – they had one piece of luggage that did not make it so there was a process that had be done before we could exit the terminal building.

Once all that was completed we proceeded out of the terminal to be greeted by our taxi driver, Adul, who we have used for quite some time now in our comings and goings in and out of Uganda. The journey from the airport to Sister Biri’s house is not a short distance. It can take anywhere from an hour and a quarter to 3 hours depending on the traffic. That may not seem a long ways, but when you tack it onto a day’s travel of 24 plus hours it seemingly is forever. Fortunately for us that late at night the traffic was minimal. As it was, we made good time in arriving at Sister Biri’s house in Kampala where we were greeted with smiles from Sister Biri as well as Sister Geraldine. Sister Geraldine is from Sierra Leone but presently working in the D.R.C. with the Johnsons. She had come the day before in order to be in the meetings that were going to be held here in Kampala. It was while we were having a light dinner that we learned that the meetings we were going to have over the weekend were going to be attended by several of the brethren from different places in Africa. I trust that the Lord will anoint and deliver the word of encouragement for the development of the Body of Christ. We are definitely looking forward to these next few days.

It is now after 1:30 AM. A good hot shower and a nice bed will bring these last few days journey to a very good end.

It is 6:23 Friday morning, March 20, 2015 and it would seem that we are in internet limo. We have made several attempts to obtain access to the internet but there is always something wrong with it, so you will probably receive these reports after the fact. The time that we have spent here has been very profitable. We have had three meetings here at Sister Felicia’s house: one on Friday night, one on Saturday, and the other on Sunday afternoon. All of the meetings were well attended and there was a good flow of the Spirit of God. The word was speaking about the plan of God to include man as a son to work with Him in His (God’s) business. What was also brought forth was an outline of how God created man with the potential of being perfect; not in the hereafter, but in the now. There are also two testimonies as to the power of God that is within His Word. One sister was telling us that she had been having a great deal of difficulties with circulation in her upper legs and in her feet. It was a situation that was causing her a great deal of pain and as well as difficulty in walking. Her testimony is that as she was speaking to Sister Felicia concerning coming to the meeting, she felt as though something was happening in that area of her body. She came to the meeting and in a session of prayer with her after the meeting, her testimony was that she felt a warming sensation in her upper legs and feet. It was not until she found that she could walk up and down the stairs without the pain that would have normally hindered her so greatly, that she realized she was experiencing the healing power of the Word of God working in her body. The end result of this was that God had healed her of the malady. When she went to the doctor to confirm this, he asked her what she had done and what medicine she was taking as her blood had come back to its normal properties. The second testimony was from another sister who had not been feeling well and thought that she had Malaria. She had determined that she was not feeling well enough to come to the meetings, but at the last minute changed her mind. As she was in the meeting that night and as the word was going forth, she began to feel better. It was not until the end of the meeting that she realized that God had touched her.

As I was listening to these testimonies, the scripture that came to my mind is found in Psalm 107:20. He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. As I was reading this scripture, there was a part of it that I was not aware of and it is the last part…delivered them from their destructions. As I began to meditate on this thought, I began to see the reality of how very self-destructive humanity is. It is as though we are pre-programmed to resist the good and accept the evil. I suppose that it comes from the word of darkness that was ministered by Satan to Eve in the Garden when he said, …and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. If you take it in context with the scripture, you must eat, in other words, you must partake of the products of the world in order for you to be able to discern good from evil, when in actuality it is completely contrary to scripture. There was a word of God spoken by the prophet Isaiah that instructs us to eat butter and honey. Isaiah 7:15, Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.

On Tuesday, Nancy and I had the privilege to minister at Sister Felicia’s school. For me personally it was a tremendous blessing. Nancy taught Kindergarten through 4th grade with somewhere around 80-90 students in their respective age groups. I shared with the 5th grade on up which included about 60 students all together in my particular class. I was so blessed with the receptivity of the students – I mean I was really impressed! I have to tell you that I was a bit nervous about being able to teach the smaller children concerning this word of the Kingdom as it applies to the Gospel of Sonship in a forum that they would understand. To compound my problem, I was to work with a translator who I have not worked with before and she had no knowledge of the concept of God wanting Sons. You would think after all these years of experience in different countries and languages, I would know that if it is God’s will for you to be doing something then it is God’s business, and God always will take care of that business. Needless to say, as I began to share the Word of God, I was acutely aware of His presence.

I began by sharing with them the why and the how of sin and the need that we have to be delivered from it through the blood of Jesus Christ. As the teaching progressed I began to share on the soul of man, making diagrams on the chalkboard showing the 4 composite aspects of the soul. My dear brethren, I have to tell you that I was amazed at the attentiveness of these children. Every one of them was sitting there looking at me with big dark eyes and the intensity of the look was as if they were hanging on every word that I was saying. As I began to make the illustration of the soul on the board, they all began to pull out of their backpacks a pencil and notebook to begin taking notes and making the drawings in their notebooks. To say the least, I was blessed and very excited!

At the end of the time that I had for this teaching, I asked all of those who would like to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior to raise their hands. Every hand without exception was raised immediately. I was shocked at the response. How’s that reaction for a man who is supposed to be a “man of faith”?? Okay… now what do I do? Is it possible that every one of them understands and is genuine in their desire to be saved? So as I was standing there pondering and asking the Lord how I was to handle this situation, He spoke to me to share with them the testimony of what happened with two of our grandchildren at a convention that we took them to in Florida. When they were just 3 years old, both of them received the Lord at the end of one of the meetings. So after sharing that experience, I again asked, admonishing the children not to participate just because someone else responds, but to stand up if they wanted to receive Jesus in their hearts. Every one stood up, without hesitation – I mean they stood up as one man simultaneously!! Well, I was left with no alternative other than to lead them in a prayer of asking God for His forgiveness of their sins and stated their individual position of acceptance of his blood. I believe that this particular experience was more for my benefit and education in the things of God than anything else. I was blessed!!!

As I have shared this testimony with different ones, I believe that there are certain things about it that God has been bringing to my attention that I might know the ways of God in a better way. One person with whom I shared the testimony told me it reminded them of the story of Gideon when he was called of God to deliver Israel from the Midianites; one experience with the fleece was not enough; he had to do it twice. He was called by God “a mighty man of valor,” yet for the fear of man he had to sneak off in the night to destroy the family altars. Another person who I shared it with said that it reminded them of the story of Acts where 3000-5000 were added to the church in a day. All of these are credible thoughts that I have to examine and inquire of the Lord as to His thoughts concerning it for I do not want to hinder the work of God in what He is able to do by what I am not able to believe.

We held meetings over the next weekend at Sister Felicia’s house. We had a meeting on Friday night, two meetings on Saturday, and one meeting Sunday morning. Most of the meetings were concentrating on the Tabernacle, which is bringing the understanding of its prophetic nature. The teachings were very basic, explaining the symbolic meanings of the substances from which the Tabernacle was made as well as the meanings of the colors and fabrics that were used. We also were able to go into the spiritual meaning of the numerology of the structure in and of itself. I believe that we were able to develop a good foundation of understanding that we will be able to build on in the future. By the end of the meetings there were three people who received the Lord and there were four people who were water baptized. At the end of the day one of the questions that was asked was now that their appetites have been excited what should they now do. It was a good question and it encouraged me greatly. We encouraged them to come together on a regular basis, to go back over the word, and to pray and seek God for His sense of direction and on that basis God would respond in a positive word of direction. My question to some of you is now that God has begun His move in Togo, what is it that you will do about it?

This trip to Togo has been a tremendous blessing and learning experience for me personally. It has, for me, set the thought of what is the will of God and the direction that He is leading us to go. He spoke a word to me in 2012 in our house in Ethiopia to “Go after the children!” On that word is my heart fixed!